Yesterday, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign sent this letter to Prime Minister David Cameron. It was drafted in response to the Ankara bombing and the UK government’s continued support for President Erdogan, despite all evidence of his divisive and dangerous politics that has threatened the very stability of Turkey – and Syria. We call on him to urge Turkey to heed the PKK’s ceasefire and return to the peace process immediately.

In just a few days, the letter was signed by 95 of our campaign’s long-time supporters, as well as friends of the Kurdish movement from across the world. We have published the letter and signatories below in full.

Over 100 prominent politicians, writers, academics, lawyers and activists signed open letter in support of HDP in Turkey’s coming elections on 7 June

Later this week, people in Turkey will vote in a general election whose outcome will determine the future direction and nature of the country for perhaps generations. The increasingly authoritarian approach of Erdogan’s presidency and the political dominance of his AKP will either be further endorsed or brought to a halt.

The HDP is seen as offering the greatest hope for a shift towards a more democratic, inclusive alternative. The HDP stands for a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish problem in Turkey, as well as democratisation, inclusiveness and openness that are attracting strong support from communities well beyond the party’s core base of supporters among the Kurds and the left.

In response to the coming election on June 7, over one hundred respected politicians, writers, academics, human rights activists, journalists and lawyers from around the world have supported an appeal in the form of an open letter calling for support for the HDP and for the world’s media to pay attention to this crucial election. Continue reading →

Frontline Club event on 25 July 2014
It is just over a year since protests to save Istanbul’s Gezi Park escalated after being met by an uncompromising stance from the government and a police crackdown. What started as an environmental movement became a wider protest against the perceived increased authoritarianism of the country’s leader.

As the protests continue and with the country due to vote in the first round of the presidential elections in early August, we will be bringing together a panel to gauge the political climate. With accusations of cronyism and mass corruption inside the government, we will explore what the protestors are fighting for and how much support they have across the country.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced large-scale criticism following his reaction to the industrial disaster that killed over 300 miners. We will be asking how much support he still maintains in the country and if he is to contest and win the election what does this mean for Turkey?

Chaired by Murat Nisancioglu, the head of Turkish Service at BBC Global News.

A present to Erdogan: Switzerland extradites Kurdish activist Metin A. – on hunger strike for 50 days – to German authorities

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had hardly left Germany, had barely ended amicable talks with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the joint struggle against the PKK, when the theory was immediately put into practice.

On 1st November, the Swiss justice ministry extradited the Kurdish activist Metin A. to Germany, and this was despite the fact that the Kurd had been on hunger strike for over 50 days, with serious health consequences. He is now in the prison hospital at Stuttgart-Stammheim auf dem Hohenasperg, where he is at least taking some liquids once again, which he had strictly refused in Switzerland. Continue reading →

A list of prominent members of parliament, members of European parliament, academic, trade unionists, political commentators and friends and supporters of the Peace in Kurdistan campaign have signed an open letter to PM Erdogan, in support of demands being made by the political prisoners on hunger strike:

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign

OPEN LETTER TO TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN

PM Erdogan Must Respond to the Demands of the Kurdish Hunger Strikers

Hundreds of Kurdish prisoners are now taking part in a hunger strike which they have declared is to be indefinite.

This hunger strike began on 12 September, a not insignificant date in Turkey’s political history, with 63 people, including 13 women, in seven prisons. The numbers have grown rapidly with hundreds more Kurdish political prisoners joining the action and it is reported that 600 prisoners are currently on indefinite hunger strike. Continue reading →

KNK (Kurdistan National Congress) member, Adem Uzun, has been remanded in custody in France after appearing court following his arrest in Paris.

The KNK condemned the action against Mr Uzun and explained in a statement that Uzun was in Paris to take part in the preparations for a conference on West Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan), which was scheduled to take place on 13 October.Continue reading →

A new construction phase was celebrated at the Ilisu dam site with a big ceremony last week: The Tigris river has been diverted at the construction site now flowing through three big tunnels. This diversion will be maintained for several years. Now the construction of the actual dam in the dry river bed begins.

Construction of the Ilisu Dam begins

The Turkish Minister of the Environment Veysel Eroglu called the Ilisu dam an “important strategic and economic project”. He stated that the project will be finished in summer 2014. After that it will take one more year to flood the reservoir.

It remains unclear, whether by “strategic” he is addressing the national Turkish-Kurdish conflict or the international consequences (mainly for Iraq). Once the Ilisu dam operates, Iraq will be even more dependent Turkish water policies. The livelihoods of about 6 Million people in Iraq depend on the Tigris river by using the water for irrigation or fishing. By cutting down the water flow, Ilisu will also put an end to the Mesopotamian Marshes, culturally and ecologically one of the most important areas worldwide. Continue reading →

The Society for Threatened Peoples has written this open letter to the Mayor of Bochum, Germany, protesting his decision to award Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the Steiger Award:

SOCIETY FOR THREATENED PEOPLES

Open letter to the Mayor of Bochum

Dr. Scholz Bochum/Göttingen, March 15, 2012

Erdogan runs roughshod over human rights: He does not deserve the Steiger Award!

Dear Dr. Scholz,

Presentation of the eighth annual Steiger Award is scheduled for March 17, 2012. This international award is intended to honor one who has shown remarkable straightforwardness, openness, humanity and tolerance. Continue reading →

The American Kurdish Information Network and their colleagues have initiated a criminal complaint against the Turkish government and members of the Turkish military forces for inciting, encouraging and directly perpetrating mass murder against Kurdish civilians on the night of 28 December 2011. Below is an extract of the complaint, which can be found in full in both English and Turkish here.

January 27th, 2012

Sait Pektaş, Edip Yüksel, Kani Xulam
VersusThe Turkish Government and the Top Commanders of its Military Forces Continue reading →

On the 27 December 2011, Morton Abramowitz, former US ambassador to Turkey, wrote an article for The National Interest claiming 2011 has been ‘The Year of Erdogan’, which you can read below. The EU Turkey Civic Commission has written this statement in response:

EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR AFRIN

Life in Afrin

Weekly News Briefing

Jeremy Corbyn issues statement of support for the National Demo

Message from Jeremy Corbyn to Kurdish national demonstration in London:
“I’m sorry not to be able to be with you today, but I send a message of solidarity with today’s demonstration, and with the Kurdish people, under sustained attack across the Middle East.
The conflict in Syria has been the trigger for an onslaught against the Kurdish people, who are defending their autonomy and their rights.
We are watching closely the alarming events that have been unfolding in Turkey in recent weeks, including the killing of civilians and destruction of Kurdish homes.
Any negotiated settlement of the Syrian conflict must include peace and justice for the Kurds, including in Turkey. And the Turkish government needs as a matter of urgency to restart the peace process with the Kurds and respect the rights of all its people.
We call for an end to repression of the Kurds and justice for the Kurdish people throughout the Middle East.”

Destruction and Repression in North Kurdistan

Freedom for Ocalan!

On the 19th anniversary of his kidnap and imprisonment by Turkey, we renew our call for Abdullah Ocalan to be freed as part of a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.